Cupid
by Melody-chan
Summary: Still wandering the Delta Quadrant, the Starship Voyager discoveres a young girl stranded alone in her spacecraft. Will Ensign Kim find true love in this strange red-eyed girl? What will happen when Lieutenant Paris proposes to B'Ellana? And can Janeway a
1. Default Chapter

Lieutenant B'Ellana Torres was not in a good mood

A/N: I stuck this in after receiving a review from someone who spoke German just a tad better than me. Thank for the advice, I'm only a German Two student and as much as I love the language, it's a mite confusing.

Chapter One

Lieutenant B'Ellana Torres was not in a good mood.

She stalked along the passageways of the Starship Voyager with a decidedly nasty air, glaring at young ensigns as they scurried past.

She was going to _kill_ Lieutenant Thomas Eugene Paris with her own hands.

~

"Captain, an unknown vessel is approaching." Lieutenant Tuvok called to Captain Catherine Janeway. "I am reading one life form aboard. It appears to be unconscious."

"Can you get a lock on it?" Janeway asked crisply, rising from her seat and pacing the small area in front of the viewing screen.

"Yes, but that may be unadvisable." Tuvok cautioned. "The life form may be hostile upon awakening."

"I'll take my chances. Transfer the life form to sickbay and construct a level two containment field. Commander Chakotay, please accompany me to sickbay."

"Of course." Chakotay rose from his chair as well and followed Janeway off of the bridge, beckoning to Ensign Harry Kim and Lieutenant Paris to tag along as well.

The electric doors slid open as motion detectors sensed Janeway's approach to reveal a very angered Lieutenant Torres.

"Excuse me, Captain." Torres grated out as she stepped past Janeway. "Harry." She nodded to the young ensign. "Tom." Torres' eyes hardened.

Paris drew back.

"Something wrong, B'Ellana?" he asked. Torres barked a short laugh, and Paris grimaced. "We'll talk later, okay? I have to follow the Captain." He pointed at Janeway and hurried down the corridor as Torres shot daggers at his retreating back.

~

"Wo… wo bin ich?" In sickbay, a young female awoke from her slumber to the passive face of the Doctor. Her medium-length black hair lay strewn over the white pillow.

"Curious," he said out loud, circling the bed and peering at the girl's eyes. "I've never seen red eyes in a humanoid before. Computer, identify language."

"Language is the equivalent of the Earth countries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein-" The computer began.

"Yes, yes, what language?" the Doctor interrupted.

"Identified as German, native to several countries on the continent of Europe on Earth." The computer stated.

"Good, very good. I wonder what you're doing all the way out here?" the Doctor mused as he scanned the girl.

"I can speak English." The girl said. "Where am I?" a German accent lingered in her words.

"The Starship _Voyager_." Announced Janeway as she strode through the sickbay doors, trailed by Chakotay, Kim, and Paris. "When we found you, your ship's Life Support was nearly gone and you were unconscious. May I ask what you're doing all the way out here?"

"I've been living on my ship ever since it was separated from an exploration unit. That was about three months ago." She said, frowning.

"What people do you belong to? Where do you stay? Janeway pressed.

"I am part of the original colony ship the Starship _New Horizon_. We were sent in an attempt to colonize the Delta Quadrant by the colonies of Pegasus and Helios on the colonized worlds of Gate and Bruecke." The girl said proudly. "My name is Melissa, but please call me Lisse."

"Lisse, is it?" Chakotay stepped forward. "Why is the _Horizon_ wandering around this far out in the Delta Quadrant?"

"Out navigational arrays are down. They were permanently disabled from an attack from the Klingons. Unfortunately, their strike cost us most of our crew, along with the families meant for colonization. We numbered forty when I was last aboard." Lisse said solemnly.

"Forty," Janeway breathed. "And colony ships are massive. _Horizon_ must have taken serious hits." 

"We did." Lisse grimaced. "The entire back half of the ship, excluding the main terminals, was completely sealed off. Current operational systems for _Horizon_ include Bridge, Core, Brig, Kitchen, a number of general quarters, a game hall/ bar, holodecks one through four, and transporter rooms three and seven."

"No sickbay?" the doctor asked, horrified. "How did you treat wounds?"

"In an improvised former Commander's quarters. We made do." Lisse shrugged.

"Well, I suppose I should let you rest." Janeway said. "Lieutenant Paris and Ensign Kim will escort you to your quarters. Tomorrow we can begin the search to locate _Horizon_." She nodded to Chakotay and Lisse. "Dismissed." With that, she left the sickbay and headed back towards the bridge. Chakotay stayed to converse with the doctor, and Kim stepped forward and held out his hand.

"If you'll come with us?" he said, and Lisse smiled shyly, taking his hand.

"Of course." She said and swung her legs off the bed. "Whoa," she said as she staggered, losing her balance. Ensign Kim wrapped an arm around her waist for support and helped her straighten up. She grinned sheepishly at him. "Still not steady, I guess." Harry gave her a brief smile and looked away.

"Come on, I'll help you to your quarters." He said nervously. Paris gave Harry a wolfish grin as he walked past and winked suggestively. Harry shot him a dirty look.

~

"Here you are," Harry said as the door slid upon to Lisse's new quarters. "If you need anything, I'm right across the hall." He pointed at a door a few feet away from them.

"I've got a date with B'Ellana tonight, Harry," Tom said, checking his watch. "So I'll see you later, I guess." The Lieutenant waved a cheery goodbye and walked down the passageway.

"Wow." Lisse breathed, eyeing the room appreciatively. "This wonderful. I've never had so much space." She flung her arms out and twirled around, her black her flying out in a wide arc. When she stopped, her red eyes were glittering happily.

"Are… are your eyes… are they red?" Harry asked cautiously. Lisse laughed.

"Yes, they're red," she told him. "It's an interesting feature, actually. Something of a birth defect in my cornea I'm told, but it's not a defect to me. I love having red eyes."

"That's good." Harry said, smiling. "Well, I'll be right across the hall, knock if you need something, okay?" Lisse nodded, still enraptured by the size of the room. Harry backed out and let the door slide shut in front of him. He stood for a moment, staring at the blank metal in front of him. "Damn it," he sighed as he turned and entered his own quarters. "Damn, damn, damn it."

~

"Where have you been?" B'Ellana nearly shouted. Tom whirled around in the passageway to find B'Ellana standing, her hands on her hips, behind him.

"Harry and I were escorting the new girl to her quarters," He said. "I'm not late, am I? Oh, I've got it-" He smacked himself in the forehead. "I screwed up the times again. Damn it, B'Ellana, I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

B'Ellana fumed for a minute and contemplated how he could be so utterly stupid. "That's not it at all," she snapped. "I want to know what the meaning of this was." She held up a small piece of folded pink paper and opened it. "Dear B'Ellana," she read out loud, "The sight of you makes me smile. I am so glad to have found a woman like you. I have never felt luckier. I would be honored," B'Ellana paused, and held up a gold ring with a diamond set into it, "If you would be my wife."


	2. Default Chapter

Chapter Two:

Chapter Two

The door chimes sounded not five minutes after Harry had settled into some black sweats and a dark blue muscle tee and sat down to read. With a heavy sigh he stood up.

"Tom, if you and B'Ellana have had another fight, I'm not being the messenger ag-" The door slid open to reveal Lisse and Harry cut off in mid-sentence. "Uh, hello." He said. "Can I help you?"

"I wanted to see what your room was like." Lisse said and bounced up and down on her toes. "Can I come in? Please?"

"Okay…" Harry stood back and watched Lisse fairly bounce into the room, clad in gray pants and a red top she had gotten from the replicator. "You're welcome to look around."

Lisse was already poking around the room, examining pictures and fingering little oddities Harry had strewn around his room.

"Is this your family?" She asked, peering at a picture of Kim and a group of dark-haired men and woman.

"Yeah, that was a family reunion back on Earth." Harry said, crossing the room to stand by her. Lisse gazed at it a moment more and then moved on.

"Your bedroom?" she called, as she turned the knob to a far door.

"Yes, please don't…" Harry trailed off as Lisse opened the door and strode inside. "Go in there." He sighed.

When he entered his bedroom, he found her staring at a little stuffed teddy bear lying on the chair beside his bed. Harry rubbed the back of his head nervously as Lisse looked at him.

"You're got a teddy bear? How sweet!" she cooed, scooping it up and cradling it to her chest. She leapt on the bed and bounced on it for few minutes, and then sat down. "I used to have a stuffed gorilla I named Moritz," she said almost dreamily, hugging the bear. "He's back on the _Horizon_."

"My parents gave me that when I was three." Harry said, looking more embarrassed by the second. "I brought it along to remind me of them…"

"I think it's adorable." Lisse announced, setting the bear down. "Sit with me."

Harry hesitantly perched on the edge of his bed. Lisse arched an eyebrow.

"Sit with me, you dork." She called, grabbing his arm and dragging him fully onto the bed. "I wanna talk."

"What about?" Harry asked, astonished.

"Anything! I'm so lonely! I was stranded in that ship for three months, or have you forgotten? I'm not about to be cooped up in another room with nothing to do after finally getting free!" Lisse said indignantly.

"Free?" Harry questioned. "From the ship?"

"From EVERYTHING! You have no idea how horrible it was to be stuck on that stupid colony ship. Boring, and of course everyone knows exactly what you're up to through that damn link." She made a face, and Harry suddenly straightened. "I'm eighteen, going on nineteen, and you'd think I could be allowed just a _little_ bit of freed-"

"What do you mean, 'link'?" Harry interrupted, and she looked at him blankly.

"The link. Don't you have a link with the rest of your crew?" She asked him curiously. Harry shook his head. "You don't?" she yelped. "So that means you can do whatever you want and nobody can tell you not to?"

"Well, not exactly." Harry said. "We have rules and codes of conduct and all that. But tell me about your link." He leaned in closer. "Is it like the Borg link?"

"Borg?" Lisse wrinkled her brow and frowned. "Who are the Borg?"

"Not who, what." Harry corrected, standing up abruptly and pacing around his bedroom. "How could you have never heard of the Borg? How could you have a link?" He whirled on the bemused girl. "Is your link telepathic, or empathetic, or something else?" he pressed.

"It's just… there." She said, baffled. "I can tell what each person on board is doing. It's like I'm doing it, too." Harry frowned.

"This is crazy." He murmured. "Starfleet has never discovered a race of beings who can do something like that."

"We're not a race!" Lisse exclaimed indignantly. "We're human beings!"

"A link between people… red eyes… how exactly did you end up in the Delta quadrant again?" Harry pressed, dark eyes narrowed in thought.

"We were a colony ship! We look for suitable worlds to habituate." Lisse explained, rolling her eyes.

"Why didn't you ever colonize a world? Didn't you ever find one? There are plenty of suitable worlds out here." Harry said, pacing around his bed like a caged animal. "And why didn't anyone come looking for you? The worlds your people came from were destroyed in an inter-species war, but Starfleet still recovered documents and copies, and none of them ever mentioned the _Horizon_." Lisse shifted in her spot on the bed and bit her lip. "What are your people _really_ doing out here, Lisse?" Harry turned and towered over her petite form as the young girl inched away from him.

"I don't know," she said, nearly in tears. "The _Horizon_ staff is always silent. They never answer me when I ask why we abandon world after world where we could finally settle down. And I've checked the records, Harry! There's nothing wrong with those worlds. They just tell the colonists that the worlds are 'unsuitable' for colonization and move on." Lisse clutched the bear to her chest and tried to hold back tears. "They told me I was wrong, that I was stupid, and I shouldn't mess with adult affairs. Then they go back to their quarters and don't come back until we discover a new planet that promises to hold life."

"Something is definitely wrong with-" Harry was abruptly cut off as the entire ship trembled beneath his feet.

~

"I don't see why you're so upset, B'Ellana." Tom said reasonably as he followed his enraged girlfriend along the corridor. _Voyager_ shuddered as another hit wracked the ship's shields, and the flashing red lights of BattleStations lit the hallway with an eerie red glow.

"You wouldn't see, would you, Tom?" B'Ellana snapped back. Inside, she wondered why she was so defensive. Why did it shock her so much that Tom had proposed? She loved him with all her heart, but something in her rebelled against linking herself to him in such a permanent – and human – way.

"No, I don't see, B'Ellana, and to be honest, I'm getting fed up. I thought I meant more to you than this." Tom stopped and gripped her shoulders tightly. "Do you love me, B'Ellana?" he asked, voice serious.

"Yes." B'Ellana murmured, eyes softening.

"Then why won't you marry me?" Paris asked, relief coursing through his veins.

"I-" B'Ellana opened her mouth to speak, but another great heave of _Voyager_ sent her tumbling against Tom and the corridor wall. The Lieutenant caught her easily and gave her a short kiss after he had straightened up.

"We'll talk later," he promised, then slipped away and fairly ran down the hallway towards the bridge. B'Ellana shook her head and headed for the Warp Core.

~

"Dammit, I knew something like this would come along." Commander Chakotay pulled on his official Starfleet uniform's overcoat and looked mutinous.

"Cheer up, Chakotay." Captain Janeway said, fastening the back of her coat expeditiously and giving him a small wink and a grin. "It's not like we never enter the Bridge together. No one will suspect a thing."

"Murphy's Law likes to make an example out of those too confident, Catherine." He muttered. "We'd better watch our step."

"Oh, hush up, Commander." Janeway smiled and kissed him briefly. "You worry too much."

~

"Where the hell is the Captain and the Commander?" Tom prowled the Bridge restlessly, the bulkheads beneath his passing fingers trembling with the weight of the attack. "Why aren't they here yet?"

"Patience, Lieutenant." Tuvok nodded at him to sit down from his station's position. "They will be here in due time."

"Good afternoon, people, let's see what's bothering us, shall we?" Janeway strode into the bridge with an air of calm superiority, and Tom visibly relaxed.

"It's about time." He breathed. "Now where's Kim?"

"Right here." The ensign entered the Bridge almost directly after Janeway, trailed by the black-haired teenager they had rescued earlier. Behind them was Commander Chakotay. "I had to get dressed."

Tom eyed Lisse and Harry speculatively, and Harry's mouth dropped.

"I was in – I mean – I didn't have my uniform – My clothes – " Harry stuttered, and Tom laughed delightedly.

"Sure, Harry. Just get to your post." Tom said, grinning, and Harry spared him a fulminating glance as he crossed the bridge to his station. Lisse followed him. To Tom's surprise, she caught his eye and winked conspiratorially. Tom winked back, and returned to his view screen.

"Tom, give me a status report." Captain Janeway sat down in her chair, crossing her legs and radiating an air of authority. Tom nodded.

"On screen, please." He asked, and a large ship filled Voyager's screen. Janeway sucked in a small breath.

"That's impossible," she breathed. "That thing must mass over three times a Borg cube's size!"

"That's the _Horizon_!" Lisse yelled. "Contact the captain!"

Janeway gave her a look. "Not now," she said. "We'll respond if hailed."

"Um, we _are _being hailed, Captain." Ensign Kim said, and Janeway blinked.

"Well then. On screen." The massive ship blinked out of existence and was replaced by a less than pleasant and undeniably angry face.

"This is the colony ship _New Horizon_," the man grated. "You are sheltering an escaped prisoner. Return her, or suffer the consequences."

~

A/N g Thanks for the compliments, guys! Thank you especially to sandersonkristin, who helped me out with the German. As for Kat89, I'd love to do a fic for you, but my time is sort of pressed, (I have so many ongoing fics it's becoming hard to keep up with them) But if I have any extra time I'll type a short one up for you, 'kay? Ciao!


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"What do you mean, escaped prisoner?" Captain Janeway asked. She gestured at Lisse and said, "We discovered her ship floating around space. If we hadn't rescued her when we did, she would have been dead."

"It would have been better if she had. That was what was intended for her. However, she confiscated that small craft and escaped." The man said, shaking a lock of brown hair out of his eyes. A small part of the Captain's mind noted that his eyes were a strange, glittering shade of gold.

"You were going to kill her?" Tom gasped.

"She was convicted of treason against the colony and conspiracy to desert. Her fellow conspirators are being held in custody awaiting penalty."

Janeway turned and gave a long look to the obviously frightened teenager, who was clutching Harry's arm for protection and looked on the verge of tears. She slowly shook her head in denial, red eyes huge and glittering.

"You can't let them take me back," she cried, "They're going to kill me! I was just curious! I didn't know I wasn't s'posed to – to – " At this admission she finally broke down, sinking to her knees on the deck and burying her face in her hands.

"You will return her." The _Horizon_'s Captain wrenched the crew's attention from the sobbing girl and back to his face on the screen.

"I'm afraid I can't let you have her back until I get all the details of this offense," Janeway said. "She seems to be just a frightened girl, not a conspirator."

"Appearances can be deceiving, Captain." The man rumbled. "I demand her return immediately, or we will open fire."

"Cut the circuit," Janeway instructed. The man's strange, pale face blinked from her screen and she turned to Tom. "Lieutenant Paris, how fast do you think that ship can go?"

"With that size, it's hard to tell, ma'am." He replied. "But we would definitely be a good deal faster."

Janeway gave a sharp nod. "Take us to maximum warp. Don't worry, Lisse. You're not going home just yet."

~

"So why did they convict you of treason?" Commander Chakotay asked, elbows planted on the table. A small data pad sat before him, recording the conversation. Around him sat the Captain, Tom, the Doctor, and Seven of Nine. At the end of the table was Lisse, looking very small and still retaining traces of fear.

"I wanted to know why we hadn't settled on any of the worlds we had found so far. So I went on the computer and looked for the private files." Lisse sniffed and tried to rub the residual tears from her eyes. "It wasn't that hard to get past. All it wanted was a simple password, and I just typed in the most logical thing for them to have used for a password. It worked."

"Wait a minute, what password would this be?" Tom jumped in.

"Unsuitable." Lisse said in a small voice. "That's what they tell us every time we discover a planet that looks as if it might harbor the right conditions for us."

"Unsuitable, eh?" Chakotay rubbed his chin thoughtfully, dark eyes intense.

"Doctor, maybe you could explain the strange eye color while Commander Chakotay tries to sort things out in his mind," Janeway instructed, turning her chair to face the emergency medical hologram.

"I've run diagnostic scans on Lisse," he said, pushing her chair back and beginning to pace the room. "There is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about her eyes. Aside from the fact that they're coded for a different color – in her case, red – it would appear to any observer that this type of eye color is natural. She is completely human in any and all respects but one."

"But one?" Seven asked, cocking her head and regarding the strange teenager with speculating blue eyes. "What would this be?"

"It's good you asked, Seven. Lisse here seems to contain a very high – almost dangerously so – number of Borg nanoprobes within her system. Yet, eluding all reason, she bears no evidence of previous assimilation, or physical implants such as your own." The Doctor said, shaking his head and gesturing at Seven's hand and eyebrow.

"How can this be possible?" Tom asked. "I mean, Harry told me she'd never even heard of the Borg!"

"Is this true?" Chakotay ceased his contemplation and turned to Lisse, who gave a small nod.

"This is getting even more interesting by the minute." Janeway said, rubbing her forehead with one hand. "Is there anything else, Doctor?"

"Simply that the nanoprobes are all completely dormant. And, I would daresay, that this occurrence is probably the norm aboard her ship."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Janeway murmured, almost to herself. "Alright, people. This meeting is adjourned. I want to see every one of you tomorrow morning at oh-eight-hundred hours sharp. Dismissed." A quick nod of her head gave her officers leave, and the meeting room dispersed quickly.

~

"They believe me." Lisse said out loud, tears of relief streaming down her face as she regarded her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The face looking back at her grinned through the streak running down her cheeks as true relaxation consumed her. "They believe me."

The face in the mirror seemed to speak back to her. "But how long until they begin to shun you, like last time? How long till the rest of them find your eyes too unnatural? Your questions to incessant? Your actions too inexplicable?"

"They're not like the others!" Lisse cried in response, and though her own face was strained tired from stress and too many tears, the one in the mirror looked back in scorn and sneered.

"They are all alike! Nobody understands you. Nobody understands _us_! Even your own father would shut this part of himself away and command his whole people to do the same. He would sentence his daughters to death to repress his true nature!" The face in the mirror screamed, red eyes glittering in fervor as the true Lisse began to sob again.

"You can't blame him! He's not himself!" She cried, and her double laughed.

"Believe what you want, you gullible girl. You are a part of me as I am of you, and we both know he would wipe our race from the face of the universe if he could find the chance." The mirror girl laughed again, and her laugh was filled with derision. "We will not perish. I will make sure of it."

Lisse looked in her mirror in dawning horror. "You wouldn't," she breathed, and began to back away from the glass in fear. "You couldn't!"

"I can and will, sister! You can help me, or you can fight me, but the only problem is that you fight fair…" Red eyes narrowed on both faces as Lisse's reflection began to swim back to normal, "And I fight very, very dirty."

~

A/N: :::does a dance::: This is going along quite nicely! I just booted up my computer and started writing, and out comes this brilliant plot advancement! *cackles madly* Insanity will take its toll! Please have exact change!


End file.
